Hardy Architecture, LLC

Incomplete and overpriced. I made a huge ($10,000+) mistake by selecting and trusting Hardy Architecture with my custom home design project. I am writing this review so that others are fully informed before considering this company. In July 2021, I engaged Allison to assist with a custom home design and trusted her expertise since this was my first time building a home from scratch. I had an initial concern about the buildability of the property which Allison assisted with and once that was resolved I asked her to help me design the home and to create drawings that would provide enough information for builders to bid on the project and for me to pursue funding. I also asked Allison if she could meet the timeline of September 2021 to complete the “prelim set” of drawings. I was told by Allison that all I needed was a floor plan, schematics, and elevations and she confirmed that she could meet my deadline. Allison also told me that I did not need footer, foundation, or wall thickness details for the estimations and yes, I actually believed her. In summary, I received her “final deliverable” one month after our agreed upon timeline (I had to constantly send emails inquiring about the status and was provided very creative excuses as to why it was not finished). When I finally received the deliverable and shopped it with three different builders, I was shocked by the consistency of their feedback. The elevations were not complete (missing key dimensions and details for estimation), the door and window schedule was just a list of doors and windows without the standard professional details (i.e. header dimensions), and they all said that I could not expect to get a reasonable estimate without foundation, footer, roof pitch details. All three builders were uncomfortable providing a prelim estimate due to lack of plan details and advised me to update the drawings properly and get footer, foundation, and roof details. The dimensions were not centered properly (I learned that builders measure to the center of each wall so dimensions should be laid out accordingly – mine were not) and quite frankly it was as if an apprentice created the design without supervision. Allison sent me a huge bill for an unusable line drawing charging a truly unbelievable amount of hours for her work. Looking at the hourly report, I still struggle to understand why my drawings were late and incomplete. Net/net, if you decide to go with this firm tread cautiously. I am currently vetting an architect who can actually provide what I need. I am paying for this ALL over again. I think my experience was entirely unnecessary as I am highly motivated and didn’t mind Allison’s hourly rate. What I do mind is paying a lot and getting effectively nothing in return. I hope my lesson learned will be of some benefit to anyone seriously considering this firm.